How Montclair Built A Thriving Downtown

On this sunny spring day in Montclair, Diamond Cycle is gearing up for bike riding weather.

“I really love bicycles, and getting people on bicycles, especially children. It’s a big part of why I do this,” said owner Craig Cornell.

There’s been a bicycle store on Bloomfield Avenue for more than a century. Cornell took over the business in the late 80s and watched the downtown district boom around him.

“It’s a drastic difference now compared to when I started in 1988,” he said. “The scene here now is just way busier, especially in the evenings. There’s a lot of great restaurants around so we get a lot more flow of people coming through. More people coming to Montclair for a destination and we’re getting a lot of business from that.”